Rap Stars Storm Grammys

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It’s just 30 days until the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards kick off, and it’s time for Last.fm Trends to start predicting which stars will come out on top, and who might walk away empty handed.

We start our coverage with a look at the nominees for Best Solo Rap Performance, and it’s a less open field than you might expect.

Recovery was one of the biggest records of 2010, bagging Eminem a spot in Last.fm’s Best of 2010 at number 6 as well a slot in the awards performance schedule. He’s a long way ahead of his fellow nominees, and track “Not Afraid” leads the pack.

And while that order almost stays stable for listeners – the blue columns in the graph above – there’s a least one surprise in the pack.

Drake actually boasts more than 50,000 more listeners for his nominated single than Kanye, and isn’t far behind Eminem at all. It means that while Drake might have impacted on a lot of listeners, he hasn’t got the repeatable potential of Eminem or Kanye.

But no matter how you cut it, T.I. hasn’t got a chance.

We’ll be digging into Grammy nominees right up until the air date on February 13th, so join us next week for more predictions. Remember, you can tune in to the show on CBS at 8pm.